Thursday, July 7, 2011

Weekend What's What 7/7-7/10

STYLIN' CITY

Now that you've been acclimated to a somewhat consistent weather pattern, it's time to dress the part! Amidst all the seasonal sensations that await you this weekend (art, music, dance parties, readings, the list goes on) we'd like to suggest injecting a little ferocious fancy to your frolicking. Peep our summer fashion editorial, "Adorned" shot by photographer Robb Long and styled by our own well-heeled lovely, Jahna Peloquin, for a bold peek at some of the cities' hottest accessory designers--perfect inspiration for making stylish summer statements!

Total Babe is one of those bands that only comes around so often, with their lushly defined lo-fi brand of folk pop, a little happy and sweet in a sad sort of way. Their flawless harmonies and charismatic compositions go beyond that oh-so-classic Minneapolis garage band thing, maintaining a sound that is at definitely local but globally appealing in the same breath. This Thursday night at the Triple Rock, you can experience all that, plus the stompworthy gypsy tambourine-meets-rock metal tunes of Nice Purse, the down-and-dirty grunge guitar and pop-ish vocals of Excuse Me, Princess, and the energetic indie rock punches of Loup-Garou. Facebook tells us that this will be Total Babe’s last live performance for quite some time, so you should probably make a solid effort and wear your closed-toed dance crowd shoes.Click HERE for the T-Rock site

FRIDAY ART PICK: KATRINA TANG

What's l'etoile admiring this week?

If you’ve ever tried to photograph a child, you know how painstaking it can be. They wiggle. They make silly faces. They blink way more than adults do, we swear. Then there are the pint-sized subjects of Katrina Tang’s photography. Spirited, inquisitive, self-possessed, andsometimes downright ethereal, they testify that the Estonian-born, London-based photographer has that intuitive, almost hypnotizing quality that makes an incredible portrait artist. From her wistful revisiting to the characters of summer camp to her editorial foraysinto youthful fashion to her personal work – whimsical, intimate portraits of family and friends – her work shows a keen understanding of both the quiet worlds of children, and how children exist in the highly structured, put-together world of adults. A nostalgic triumph.

The Basilica Block Party is tough competition for every other summer block party in Minneapolis, and it probably wins out, being a two-night, three-stage extravaganza and all. This year, the line-up is spectacularly well-curated. Friday night offers Scars, Lissie, the JAYHAWKS and David Gray on the main stage, along with Michael Franti and Spearhead, Fitz and the Tantrums, G. Love and Special Sauce, and stellar local bands White Light Riot, Usonia, and Zoo Animal. Saturday night features Stuart D’Rozario, Gomez, Amos Lee, and Ray LaMontagne and the Pariah Dogs on the main stage, along with Drive-By Truckers, Citizen Cope, the 4onthefloor, the Pines, Hunting Club, and the Arms Akimbo. Whew. Proceeds raised go to the ongoing restoration of the historic Basilica and to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which aids those in need of food and shelter.

Exploring the lines between memory and experience, life as we live it and life as we create it, Toni Gallo’s paintings tend to have that jarring quality of being both fanciful and familiar. And such is no less true with Head Dressed, her new visage-driven acrylic series, opening Friday at Rosalux. Using both friends and strangers as models, the paintings use not only the subjects’ likenesses to tell a story, but various carefully-chosen objects and designs surrounding them. But Gallo goes a step further – her subjects are depicted only from the neck up, further highlighting notions of accessory and surroundings in relation to personality. They are, as the exhibit title might suggest, heads defined by their dressings, characters defined by their environments. Face it (we know, we know), you want to be there.

Get ready for the party of the summer! Set sail on the mighty Mississip this Friday with our fave leg-kicking rockers Pink Mink, joined by special guests the Birthday Suits, on a fantastical voyage on board the Betsey Northrup for a three hour rock cruise! A nautical-themed costume contest will treat sailors with big prizes including passes to the SoundTown Festival in Somerset, WI as well as Vinyl, CDs and T-Shirts. Pink Mink have pulled out all the stops to create a decadent party, so dance the night away to sexy yacht rock jams by DJ Dave Campbell (swoon!), make eyes at that stranger across the bow, and create some sultry summernight memories. Bon Voyage!

You may remember the patio nights of yore. Hosted on the seventh story, riverfront-overlooking patio of the MMAA’s former home on Kellogg Boulevard, the weekly summer music series has featured local music’s best over the years, from Mark Mallman to Vampire Hands to Dance Band to Gospel Gossip. Though the location has changed (there are still open-air views of the water, but now from a spacious park pavilion instead of a dingy government building), you can still expect some seriously great tunes. Friday’s featured artist is ambient folk six-piece Matthew Inkala & The Hostages. To further sweeten the evening, Café 128 will be catering the event, and at sundown, Jim Campbell’s Scattered Light sculpture (1600 LED lights on an 80-foot wide, 20-foot tall structure) will be illuminated just yards away.

Literary, bitter-sweet, wry, ferociously harmonic...we can only be describing one thing: the triumphant return of the two-night jam sesh, Cadence Hip-Hop Series. Created by lit's local hip-hop queen and the woman declared “equal parts Ani DiFranco and Mos Def” by Rift Magazine, Dessa, this year's local hip-hop panegyric features lyrical live sets from Cecil Otter, Crescent Moon is in Big Trouble, Astronautalis, Lazlo Supreme and Toussaint Morrison, MaLLy and the new vocal/electronic project from Aby Wolf made up of an assembly of synths, bass and vibraphone that will produce a genre-melding sound to be reckoned with. Expect a magnificently curated dual-day melee featuring the best locally-based rappers, DJs, poets and writers. Hop 'til you drop!

MIKE 2600’s monthly DJ party has been causing us to spin ourselves into a frenzy since its inception, and this month is no exception. Guest DJ, Superbush (Giant Panda / Tres Records), will be joining forces with Mike to bring the good people of the Miniapple a little tropical thunder on this sure-to-be sultry night of dance mayhem. We've been told to expect "a full night of dutty dancehall reggae, traditional Cumbia joints, and off-the-wall Moombahton bangers." And who can argue with that? Choose your Hawaiian shirt wisely and get down on it!

It’s heeeere! After a tantalizing cover photo was previewed back in June, we’ve been dying to get our paws (well, computer screens anyways) on teen-run Crooked Teeth Magazine’s summer issue. And let us say, it’s more than worth the wait. Packed with more gorgeous photography from editor Caitlin Angelica and Baohien Ngo; poetry (including a black-out from “Catcher in the Rye”); spots on up-and-coming bands, including recent high school grads turned indie powerhouses Cat and Fox, and “folk rock with horns” duo Skittish; showcases of local artists, including street fashion photography team The Minneapolis Affair and Sohail Akhavein, purveyor of the exquisitely grotesque self portrait, this issue is everything we hoped for and more from the fresh-faced zine. Here’s to the next one! (Yep, we’re already impatient).

Go ahead and salivate, because tonight the Twin Cities grittiest, loudest, and least apologetic food fest is back with another delectable evening of music and local samplings. Gastro Non Grata will hijack the First Ave mainroom for their biggest-to-date melding of live bands and local restaurants cooking up a delicious storm of sound. The night kicks off with folk punk from Anti-Civ Record's Sorry OK, rolls into some power-packing indie courtesy of STNNNG, prog-metal from Ace of Cakes and 70's-inspired, metal-jam art rock from Zebulon Pike. Hop over to the Entry for traveling vaudeville-esque tunes from El Le Faunt, the new wave-y garage sounds of Voytek, and metal riffage by Nightosaur. And what better way to wash down the local tunes than with some tasty treats from the Modern Café, Haute Dish and Grand Café as well as drinks from Northern Brewer and PBR. Plus, get your mitts on some “intestine cased meatsicles” in the Dead Meat Door Prize, courtesy of Clancey's Meat and Fish. Not for the faint vegetarian of heart! Buying your tix in advance is recommended--you wouldn't want them to run out of food before you have a chance to stuff your face, right? Eat like a king for cheaper than you would at a restaurant and rock out at this early evening event (you'll still have time to hit da club afterward, yo).

Before his latest exhibit even had a title, graphic designer Adam Garcia sent out a series of e-mails. Subject-lined: “Trust me!” the messages were sent to 30 of his friends, acquaintances, and former collaborators, asking if they wanted to participate in a new project. They would send Garcia a one-color image, and he would manipulate it in to something else. The catch? Collaborators would have no input in the final product. Twenty-nine brave souls signed on, creating pieces centered, fittingly, on trust. The final outcome is a collection of prints, each a unique “collaboration” between Garcia and the artists. See the final pieces as well as personal work by Garcia on Saturday at CO Exhibitions. Trust us, you don’t want to miss it.

Through July 17, the Soap Factory is hosting The Erasers, an international rumination on conceptual objects, on how they exist both autonomously and as representations – and erasers – of collective and personal cultural memory. Since it opened, a handful of Minnesota writers have been spinning stories, poems, and prose in response to the exhibit, which they’ll be sharing Saturday at the Soap Factory. Writers include Minnesota Book Award winning author, dancer, and dance writer Lightsey Darst; photographer, poet, and creative non-fictionist Sarah Hayes; essayist, poet, and playwright (look for her latest play, Four Destinies, at Mixed Blood in October); and l’etoile fave/Loft-McKnight fellowship winner John Jodzio.

You stud them, patch them, cut them off, and roll them at the ankles. You flaunt them on casual Fridays. You worry (or rejoice) if they make your butt look big. And if you’re Taylor Swift, you sing about pretty boys in them. They’re your blue jeans, and by golly if Clubhouse Jager isn’t throwing those beloved old standbys a dance party – the fourth one of its kind, to boot(cut)! Here’s the skinny (get it?): wear as much denim as possible (duh), with as much flare (remember those?) as possible. The more outrageous the better – there will be prizes. There will also be denim visuals by Bobby “America’s Sweetheart” Kahn and DJ sets by The Stayspun, MMMKowski, and Slamdunkapher. Got that straight (leg)? Bring your boyfriend and your cigarette, and any other obnoxious denim puns we forgot to mention.

For boasting such a buzz-worthy, all-star line-up, this band has strangely floated under the radar since their first few shows last fall, but we predict they won't be musically veiled for long. Tonight welcomes your chance to tweet this band's brilliance before your friends do. Including members Jeremy Ylvisaker (Alpha Consumer, Andrew Bird), Twin Cities' songstress sweetheart, Haley Bonar, Luke Anderson (Rogue Valley) and Mike Lewis (Happy Apple, Gayngs), Gramma's Boyfriend is a mix of 80's pop and punk-infused experimental tunesmithery that we insist you don't miss. Alpha Consumer, All Tomorrow's Petty, and Upstate kick things off.

Your parents had The Boss and Tom Petty, we – my friends – have Kurt Vile. Remember that music that used to tie you in knots, fill the room with apparition-esque sounds of legend of past? 'Tis the elements of Kurt Vile. Raved about by distortion gods, Sonic Youth, Vile unpretentiously combines the timeless iconic reverbs of Suicide, My Bloody Valentine, Nick Drake and Neil Young with the lyrical genius of a classic American songwriter and the evocation of a vocal wander. On a summer tour now with veritable punk rock dude, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Vile makes a stop at First Ave Monday, July 18th. Bring ear plugs...or don't.

Tonight, the Turf Club's rebellious ruffians aren't the stumbling lushes in the Clown Lounge – they're the literary hooligans with the mic! The Riot Act Reading Series returns to it's long-time home with a kick ass line up of rowdy readers. Hemled by punk poet Paul D. Dickinson along with clever cohort Laura Brandenburg, tonight's edition of RARS will feature a solid list of talented performers including Mary Mack, Louis Murphy, and Dickinson and Brandenburg themselves. And what better day than Sunday to let a little "riot" into your life? Stick around for Hairy Karaoke!

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